A dozen companies chosen as Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers, will get special treatment

Facebook has chosen 12 companies out of 300-plus from its Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) program to award with a higher honor, it was announced Friday.

These 12 companies will be known as Strategic Preferred Marketing Developers, a distinction that will make it easier for brands to find the best developers available on Facebook.

“The Strategic PMD title is the highest distinction of excellence we have ever offered to our marketing developers and signifies our interest in building a relationship forged in the true spirit of collaboration and mutual value creation. The goal of this initiative is to strengthen Facebook's ability to meet client needs and accelerate the transition of marketing on mobile devices,” Facebook writes.

By being on the list, the companies are given special privileges, including: priority support from Facebook; access to alpha and beta trials; improved turn-around times for reviews and technical problems; improved access to Facebook’s product and engineering teams; and trainings on products that are tailored to the company’s needs and focus.

Essentially, these companies will get to have a say in what direction Facebook takes its marketing strategy. They will also basically be guaranteed that if anything goes wrong with their products, they will be fixed right away.

These advantages are not free, of course. Facebook says that Strategic PMDs will have to actively participate in business planning; assist with developing sales and marketing strategies for Facebook; be willing to quickly adopt of Facebook’s marketing products; and participate in studies and events.

The list of Strategic PMDs will be updated every six months, with new companies being considered to join.

“This distinction validates our long-standing approach of providing holistic, integrated solutions by bundling enterprise social software and world class marketing services for the biggest companies and most liked brands on the Facebook platform. Our existing clients are going to benefit from the enhanced product support and early access to innovative new features that enable deeper connections with their customers. Being part of this elite group of only 12 companies recognized by Facebook certainly enhances our profile as a company and will likely open doors to work with more great companies who are committed to building their ‘brand networks’ on Facebook,” Jaime Tedford, Founder and CEO of Brand Networks, told VatorNews.

“We’re honored to be named a Strategic Preferred Marketing Developer, the highest distinction of excellence Facebook has offered to its marketing developers. We look forward to continuing to develop software that maximizes value from the Facebook advertising ecosystem, helping our advertising partners measure and optimize their Facebook ad spend for lifetime customer value,” Nanigans co-founder and CEO Ric Calvillo said in a statement sent to Vator.

"We have always been working hand in hand with Facebook on their latest products and offerings. This will increase even further our level of co-operation. Being part of this program means that Facebook will help us in several key areas such as access to beta products, deeper engineering/technical support, and product roadmap guidance. The end result is that our clients will achieve more from their ad buys through us and will have access to the latest and greatest ROI generating products on Facebook," Hussein Fazal, CEO of AdParlor, tells Vator.

“As a charter member of the sPMD group, Salesforce Marketing Cloud has been identified by Facebook as one of the companies that is driving outstanding results in the marketing developer ecosystem. We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with Facebook and providing our customers with the insights and actions that create customers for life, " says Rob Begg, VP Product Marketing.

In an interview VatorNews, Social Code CEO Laura O'Shaughnessy called the inclusion of the company on the list a "validation of all the hard work we have done with our clients to help them take Facebook to the next level."

Of the bonuses afforded the companies on the list, O'Shaughnessy was most enthusiastic about having access to alpha and beta trials, which she said are extremely important in understanding how a program will work, as these trials allow them to be tested on the platform.

The improved access to the Facebook teams will also be very helpful, she said, as issues will constantly arise during product development in which it will need Facebook to help troubleshoot. Having increased access will cut down on development problems.

New York City-based Social Code is a provider of social market solutions, in which it assists brands with building ad campaigns on networks like Twitter and Facebook by help them better engage on the platform. Its clients include Samsung, ABC, Coca-Cola, UPS and MasterCard.

Facebook created the Preferred Marketing Developer program in April, “to bring developers to the right clients and make it possible for any brand or company to find consultants who can work with them to build comprehensive Facebook campaigns and presences.”

The point of the program was to better connect brands and developers, by weeding out companies that seemed shady or suspect.

Given that Facebook currently has 310 Preferred Marketing Developers, it makes sense for them to create this next distinction, to make sure that advertisers can easily find the best marketing developers available.